MAD
by Demonic Angel Clone
Summary: He knew enough of pain and suffering to call himself a God and her his Goddess…it was enough to drive him mad. Pein and Konan, dedicated to Coco-Minu.


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**M.A.D.**

Special Dedication to: Coco-Minu, Reward for her fiction, "Invincible."

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**M**utually…

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They felt for one another, for there wasn't a task he wouldn't do for her and there wasn't a task she wouldn't do for him.

Which was why they both held each other's hands the day Nagato died and Yahiko gave him his life, an eye for an eye. His hands were so _incredibly_ _cold_ and her hands were _paper thin_ like her _heart_ and she could feel it _ripping to shreds_ until there was nothing left, but _torn ridges_. He doesn't want to say it and she doesn't want to believe it, but they know good and well that he's dead and that they're in the company of a corpse that was far too fresh to be left six feet under or enflamed until the flesh shriveled and snapped. Yahiko wouldn't forgive them, either of them, if he was left in such a way.

"Smile, Konan." He startled her as they grasped onto the other's hand, as if they held the other's life in their palms. She didn't know what to call him now, was he still Nagato or did he become Yahiko? She was unnerved by his ghostly pale face, the cold corpse-like flesh hanging onto her own. He continued to look out into the distance and with that emotionless mask he wore with ease, she wondered if he was seeing anything at all.

"Why?" Her barely genial voice broke and she knew she must have looked so transparent because paper becomes tarnished when wet. She couldn't wipe away her tears because they left as soon as they came, temporarily imprinting themselves into her skin. She wished the wind blew harder…

"Because it's who you are, you shouldn't change on my account." He spoke calmly, detachedly, like a being not part of this earth she stood on. She sniffled and felt the wind blow right through her.

Her lips curved, "I didn't change due to that, it's just that many don't smile at funerals." She let go of his hand briefly, feeling no difference in temperature, and twiddled her fingers together softly, producing strips of paper seemingly from air. She began to twist them, ruining their original design to create something beautiful. If she could, she would make a field full of flowers to make everything return to the way it was, but she was too broken for that now.

Now, she curled and twisted the paper into a spiraled rose and blew it out to the wind's wild abandon, the last of whatever hope she retained for this world leaving with it as she remained on that hilltop.

Her hand returned to his. Warmth, cool, deathly icy, it didn't matter to a torn edge, it was still ripped regardless. It still felt the death of two friends ripping it apart. She couldn't bear to smile if it was done hypocritically, like a hidden message in a deed.

"So, you feel it too." He observed, this stranger holding her hand. He knew her so well and she didn't even know his name.

"Feel what?" She asked. Could she feel anything anymore, with her friends dead? How could you feel if hot and cold were of no difference? How could you feel if you were an inanimate object?

"The pain of this world. The suffering one goes through when they become attached. You desired for more, wanted more, and those ambitions were destroyed, so what do you do now?"

Neither the caring Nagato nor the forceful Yahiko spoke in such a stoic manner and she didn't know how to proceed in answering. And so she asked, "What should I do?"

He turned to her, face paper pale, "You take the pain away. You inflict pain to take the pain away."

She continued to stare at him, her glassy orbs becoming a lucid blue ink. Something told her it was wrong, but losing two friends, wasn't that wrong within itself? "And how do you do that?"

"You bring ruin to this world that made desire and temptation, then cleanse it of all others that bring pain and suffering. After that, I will rule the new world as a God."

She blinked slowly, processing his words and stared down upon the town, "So, where does that leave me?"

He never hesitated with his words, "You'll be my Goddess, Konan."

Her inky orbs widened, streaking blue tears across her face and she looked up at him as he stayed frozen in place, "Goddess?"

He faced her, "Yes, but first, you must become an angel."

Her mouth was left agape, what could she say to such a thing? Could angels be as paper thin as she? "Do angels _love_…?"

He caressed his pale thumb on the back of her papery hand, "They can, if they want to. Angels are far more superior to humans…only humans feel _pain_…"

She gripped his hand tighter as she listened to his musings. If angels couldn't feel pain, then neither would she and if she had to become an angel to stand with Nagato and Yahiko again as a Goddess, she would do it. Maybe, until that day came, she would smile again.

_"…I will provide enlightenment and become pain. I will become the pain they will feel when I rid this Earth of all of its pain. …"_

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**A**ssured…

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They fell in place with each other as he never felt fear and she never felt fear.

Not that she ever could. When she was young, she went through the world seemingly happy when she was truly blissfully unaware. She was now an entity in Amegakure and she heard the murmurs throughout the streets.

He was a God in their streets now, so it would only come as second nature for her to be his angel and soon she would be his equal.

She looked inside the black body bag and regarded him, "Since when did you decide to get a female body, Pein?"

She looked up at him and found him staring at her and then he looked to the still body, "I found her one night, left for dead. She reminded me of you when I saw her face."

Konan looked back to the body, felt the studs Pein pierced into her soft, yet cold flesh. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Is that impatience I hear in your voice?" He asked quietly against the wind and her eyes widened slightly. She almost broke her mask; she almost smiled, grinned in fact.

…Smiling…

…Such a human thing to do…

She only allowed a slight curve of her lips, a barely noticeable quiver, "Of course not, Pein, you just happen to be sentimental of late. Any reason?"

"Yes, actually," He answered her thoughtfully; "We're nearly there, Konan. Although, Mandara still hasn't said the next plan of attack, after Konohagakure."

She remained emotionless as she closed the body bag and swiftly stood.

"I know you don't like him, Konan."

She crossed her arms, "I never said that."

"You've thought of it."

"Only of how he underestimates your power."

"And how you would destroy him if given the chance."

"Absolutely."

Pein's lips curved downward slightly, "You shouldn't have thoughts like those, Konan. He's our leader."

She narrowed her midnight eyes, "He doesn't lead me, Pein. He should only be glad he can't die."

"Does it bother you?" His voice never changed, but she knew he was amused. "Does it bother you when I refer to him as 'leader'?"

"Of course it does," She whispered in the form of a hiss, "A God shouldn't ever have to say someone else is more superior, not when he is stronger than the person he calls a 'leader.' I hate this charade and I'm aware that we are close to our goal, but…"

"Continue," He urged.

"You should show him the true power of pain, so that he knows who the true leader is."

"Soon. They'll all know soon enough, Konan. Did you really think I'd be content playing the figurehead?"

She neared him, finally putting her arms to her side, "No, I didn't."

They spoke so easily of their betrayal, not that they had true allegiance to Akatsuki. They all agreed they aligned with each other as a group for convenience, nothing more. When Pein introduced his partner as Konan, most knew not to say a word about the fact that she was a female. Except the one wearing the spiraled orange mask.

She would've killed him there and then and nearly did, engulfing him in a dome of slicing paper that came from her form. He chuckled nervously as soon as she relinquished him, tugging on his collar and brushing off the dust that resulted, ignoring the thin cuts of blood seen in various places around his body.

When Pein said she was Akasuki's new member, no one objected and no one questioned it.

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**D**estruction…

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Was what they drove the world into, was what he wanted and what she wanted.

And sometimes she wondered, while doing it, if she fell for the fierce Yahiko or the soft-spoken Nagato. She looks at his striking face and sees Yahiko and watches his guarded eyes and sees Nagato. Then she notices his studs and speech and only sees Pein. If she fell for her friends, who were long gone until only pain remained, then she would call herself a masochist.

He touches her water-colored hands, that day she's inaugurated. The lone female in Akatsuki, a title only fitting for a Goddess.

__

"I need you here, Konan," He stares at her solemn features that night, "You're the only one I can trust."

She feels the flutter of sheets and soon, she is torn apart, fluttering through the crisp air, smothering the citizens of Konohagakure until they can't breathe. She spreads herself throughout the streets, covering up everything and anything possible. With every person she kills, it appears as if she is sweeping the streets clean, purifying them in a sea of ivory.

__

She takes that to heart and willingly accepts the pain, "I understand."

He feels the flutter of sheets and tears through the streets, each form of himself with an objective in mind. If he could willingly inflict pain on himself to numb the suffering, then he would inflict pain everywhere else. To take out Konohagakure would cement the victory of Fire Country and to gain possession over the Nine-Tailed Fox would bring them one step closer to their goal: Total destruction.

_"…I knew you would…"_

* * *

He laughs.

He laughs with the last blow he makes because it is the final blow and with his pain sustaining to a numbing high note, he is the only one who feels pain in the world. He laughs because he finally drove himself to the point of no return, finally becoming mad in the process.

Konan is almost startled by the sound and she doesn't believe it is Pein. It's the two men she fell in love with that day in an abandoned alley, they were both laughing and she allows herself to smile.

She looks into his spiraled eyes and she finally admits to herself that maybe she wasn't in love with two men.

She knew the pain of being in love with three.

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I hope anyone who took the time to read this enjoyed it, even though I think I may have to be placed in an asylum after this. Oh well.

So, review if you feel inclined to.

DAC


End file.
